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In a startling revelation, the European Commission’s recent report has uncovered the staggering extent of the Caribbean passport trade. Several nations offer citizenship to foreign nationals, with entry-level prices starting at a jaw-dropping $100,000 (£82,326) per person.

Promising transparency in passport sales during his 2022 election campaign, St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew has left many puzzled after more than a year in office. Despite his pledge, the Prime Minister has remained tight-lipped regarding the number of passports endorsed under his tenure through the CBI programme.

The EU report, however, paints a vivid picture. It discloses that St. Kitts and Nevis, with a population of 48,000, has astonishingly issued a whopping 36,700 passports, a figure twice the estimated count up until 2018. Most alarmingly, the report highlights an alarmingly low rejection rate for applications in Dominica and St. Kitts and Nevis, hovering between a mere 3% and 6%. This, coupled with rapid processing times as short as two months in some cases, raises critical questions about the efficacy of security screening procedures.

Furthermore, the report sounds a clarion call about the nationalities of golden passport holders, spotlighting a significant influx from countries notorious for high levels of perceived corruption. Applicants predominantly hail from China and Russia, as well as Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Nigeria, and Libya – nations plagued by deep-rooted corruption concerns.

This revelation has sent shockwaves through diplomatic circles, igniting a fervent debate on the implications of the passport trade. As scrutiny intensifies, the world waits with bated breath for Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew’s response to these explosive findings.